“Breathing is deeply and intimately connected to, and reflective of, our state of mind, feelings, mood, and sense of well-being.”

–Havi Carel, Phenomenology of Illness (Oxford Scholarship Online, September 2016) 108–109.

Mirrors uses the rhythm of breath to trace a history. This history embraces the embodied experience of the performer and that of the instrument(s) she plays. Taking as a foundation the pacing of inhales and exhales, repeating tremolos shift at the peaks and troughs of these circular biorhythms. As the piece progresses, the material pushes and pulls at the length of these breaths, erasing the boundary between following and leading.

To prepare the tape part, the performer records herself playing three times, each on a different piano. The instruments bring their own history and character. In a performance, the performer plays the score again with these layered recordings echoing back from inside the piano, synchronizing past and present to tell a corporeal history.